Sunday, March 29, 2015

We have all been there. Glorious summer vacations, which we have been anticipating and eagerly waiting for weeks, months even. But once we are there, lounging by the pool, with a cocktail nearby, we have this yearning. A need for our habitual and customary entertainment. After all there is only so much staring into nothing you can do.

Fortunately this problem is easily solvable in this day and age. Let us be honest. Never has there been a time when humanity had such quick access to information, content and entertainment with such effortless ease, at the mere swipe of a finger as we do now. Our smart phones provide us with the world at our fingertips.

I for one happily admit, my summer vacations are better with my favorite apps. Here are the 4 apps that keep me entertained on my smartphone during vacation time;

Buqo is a Philippine based virtual bookstore / newsstand. Originally built to keep expat Pinoys in touch with their homeland, there is nothing stopping non-Philippine natives from enjoying the multitude of choices available at your fingertips. Eons of books and magazines available for free or at a minimal cost. One can search by category, ensuring you will find something that interests you without having to scroll through the thousands of available books and magazines. Some of my favorite currently available magazine titles are TopGear and Entrepreneur Magazine. Nothing beats relaxing by the beach, reading and learning at the same time.

2. Netflix

As most of you know, Netflix is a worldwide leading website that provides its subscribed customers with movies and television series on demand. Netflix has an app, available on iTunes, which allows subscribers to watch movies and/or television shows from anywhere, while using their phone. To watch in the Philippines, you'll need to have a VPN service. I will do that in a separate post so you too can enjoy Netflix. You can enjoy your favorite Netflix show whilst travelling to and from your vacation during those long airport waiting times, and if you have kids, you can keep them busy with cartoons on Netflix. Either way, your life is more smooth sailing because of this app. Some of my favorite shows include documentaries from PBS, classic sitcoms like FRIENDS, and even classic Mickey Mouse cartoon for my kid.

3. Stumbleupon

This app is a content platform. When creating an account, users tap on categories of interest. This will enable the app to generate articles, content, pictures, videos and quotes related to your topic of interest.

By way of generating only that which interests you, this app will ensure you are never bored. In fact it can be quite addictive, especially since with this app you can follow your friends and share your favorite content, whilst keeping up to date with the latest news, and trends. Like Buqo, this is also an entertainment / learning app. You can read something as light as life hacks or even learn about investing in the stock market with just a click of the "stumble" button.

Talking about addictive, I have enjoyed many happy hours entertaining myself with this free war strategy game. This is the Farmville of war. With this game you can build armies, strategize, and construct villages to defend your army. Your army will battle against players around the world who number in the millions, or else work with other players in collaboration to build a powerful clan. This is really addictive. I've been playing since 2014 but slowed down late last year because of my busy schedule. The fact that you can just play whenever you are free and continue what you have left makes it very addictive as you try to beat your friends by having the most defended base or comparing number of trophies.

From movies, to books, magazines and games, these apps are sure to satisfy your craving for entertainment. Downloading is free and has never been easier. Summer vacation is all the more fun, when you can keep yourself happy anytime anywhere but remember that these vacations are best spent with other people. These are for your free and alone time and something that can maximize your waiting time. As I said, you can only stare blank for so long lounging by the beach.